This page is a compendium of items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, damnable prevarications, rants and amusing anecdotes - about LAUSD and/or public education that didn't - or haven't yet - made it into the "real" 4LAKids blog and weekly e-newsletter at http://www.4LAKids.blogspot.com . 4LAKidsNews will be updated at arbitrary random intervals.

April
30, 2016– Granada Hills Charter High School garnered its fifth United
States Academic Decathlon (USAD) title - in six years – earlier today in
Anchorage, Alaska. Granada Hills Charter scored 54,195.1 out of a
possible 60,000. This award marks the end of the 2015-16 academic
decathlon season in which Granada Hills Charter won all levels of
competition including the city, state and national titles.

“It’s
exciting to win at this level,” said Mathew Arnold, GHCHS English
teacher and Academic Decathlon coach, “This win isn’t just for us. It’s a
way to for the whole school to show our strength. I’m proud of our kids
and feel fortunate to be a part of this team!”

The Academic
Decathlon is a 10-event scholastic competition for high school students
that consists of seven multiple choice tests plus a speech, interview,
and essay. Granada Hills Charter captured the trophy in the fast-paced
super quiz round, signaling the end of the competition on Friday
afternoon. The Awards Banquet was held at the Civic Center in Anchorage
and the team’s championship was announced to cheers in the packed
auditorium, including all the parents of the GHCHS team.“We are so
proud of our son and his teammates for their dedication,” said Sundio
Lin, father of Joshua Lin, a member of the team since 2015. “They work
so hard. Seven days a week. The coaches and staff, they love our
children and sacrifice so much, every year. We are grateful to see
Joshua succeed like this.”

The Academic Decathlon divides the
competition into three categories based on GPA: Honor (3.75-4.00),
Scholastic (3.00-3.74), and Varsity (2.99 or below). Granada Hills
Charter won the top individual scores in all three categories.

Pictures of the team are available on request.About
Granada Hills Charter High School: Granada Hills Charter High School,
the largest charter school in the nation, is an independent public
school in the San Fernando Valley. A fiscally independent conversion
charter school, Granada Hills Charter has a current student enrollment
of approximately 4,500 and an annual student wait list of almost 3,000.
The School’s student body is considered one of the most diverse, with
more than 40 languages other than English spoken at home and over 60
nationalities represented. Over 2,300 students are eligible for the
National School Breakfast and Lunch Program. As a 501c3 non-profit
benefit corporation, the School’s Governing Board is the legal entity
overseeing all school policy and its $50 million operating budget. In
2015, BusinessInsider.com and Niche recognized GHCHS as the # 1 public
high school in California and #10 public high school in the United
States of America. In August 2015, Granada Hills Charter opened iGranada
Digital Arts & Sciences, an innovative blended learning program, on
its new Devonshire campus.